Spring and early summer is such a great time of year for fishermen along the central east coast of Florida as everything comes alive everywhere. There are schools of hungry redfish and gator trout in the shallows, snook collecting in the passes, tarpon and bull sharks marauding up the creeks and rivers, jacks, bluefish and ladyfish collecting the passes and mullet migrating through the lagoons by the millions. The weather is usually mild and it is a great time to be alive! We have had a bunch of outstanding fishing charters over the past month and are excited to share them in this report.
As a seasoned guide and grandfather, it is hard to describe how exhilarating it is to watch and father and his young children enjoy a day of great fishing. Recently, Capt. Rocky had that special joy of guiding and observing the Brad Morgan and his two daughters, Lilly aged 10 and Laney age 7, as they fished the shallow grass flats together in the Indian River near the Kennedy Space Center properties. The weather was fantastic as well as the memories generated on the day. The threesome started the day meeting manatees and ended by chasing schools of redfish. They also got to watch dolphins playing, alligators lurking, and eagles and ospreys soaring. The dad and gals caught a 15-20 reds and gator trout along with some memories that should last a long, long time.
By nature of their profession, pastors and ministers in our community rarely get a change to gather collectively in a recreational settings and when a chance does come, it is so refreshing for them. Recently Jerry Butz and Boaters Exchange organized such a setting by hosting and inshore fishing tournament for our pastor and pairing them with local guides. Both Capt. Peter and Capt. Rocky participated in the event and had an absolute blast fishing with the clerics. Peter’s crew caught the first place redfish and the second place trout in the tournament while Rocky’s team took first place trout and second place redfish (for the record, the first place trout was slightly bigger than the first place redfish). Pictured below are Pastor Titus Green of FBC, MI holding the winning 28 inch trout followed by Pastor Richard Fuller, also with FBC, IM, holding the second place red.
It wasn’t a record that would last long on a beautiful late spring day in Sebastian Inlet. Jacob, 14 year old grandson of Paul Tully, had caught fish up to seven pounds, mostly bass in his home state of Arkansas. But on this day, a day that will live long in his memory, Jacob went big, really big.. After orienting himself to saltwater tactics by catching a bunch of trout, ladyfish and angry bluefish, Jacob tangled with something even angrier and toothier – sharks. His first shark was a four foot bull (estimated weight of 30 pounds) caught on one of Capt. Rocky’s stiff redfish rods. The second shark, caught on granddad’s spaghetti-limp bass rod, was a five-foot bonnethead weighing an estimated 50 pounds. The bonnie took over thirty minutes to land in the shallow clear waters near the Inlet. Pictured below is an exhausted Jacob bringing the bonnethead next to the boat followed by the equally exhausted bonnie posing for the camera.
Doug Torpy fished spent a morning on the water sightfishing big Indian River reds with Capt. Peter. Schools of the big redfish were feeding up on sandbars and readily ate any bait thrown at them. Most of the reds were around 40 inches with two of them pushing 40 pounds.
Joey and A.J. were off for spring break from their senior year in high school and their uncle, Mark DeLorenzo of Oviedo wanted to create some memories with a pre-graduation gift of a custom fishing charter and some gift and some memories it turned out to be. Fishing with Capt. Rocky the trio launched from Kennedy Point Park on a very chilly morning and headed for the shallow grass flats. Slowed by the cold, the fish were lethargic until the sun rose higher the water and fishing activity warmed. Among the reds and trout caught by the threesome, Joey’s big bull red (40 inch fish) was the highlight of the day.
David Eror vacationing with family , from New Jersey, fished with Capt. Rocky on the Indian River near Titusville on an early spring day. Temperatures were moderate, partial sunny skies which made sight fishing a challenge and moderate easterly winds. The flats were still recovering from a late winter storms which ripped through the area several days prior, the mullet had scattered and had not returned, the breeding trout which had been flooding the flats the prior week disappeared. David had a blast catching a number of reds and trout. He was particularly thrilled with the experience of wading the clear shallow water stalking his prey.
Gorgeous spring weather provided a great backdrop for some wonderful shallow water fishing for Larry and Sam Bloomfield of Orlando. Fishing recently with Capt. Rocky, the Bloomfield boys found a large gathering of upper slot reds and monster gator trout anxious to entertain on the grass flats along the east side of the Indian River near Titusville.
Taking advantage of the great spring weather, Patrick Veltman chartered Capt. Peter for a half day of flats fishing. The day flew by sight-fishing three different schools of redfish in shallow, clear water. Pat skillfully landed a half dozen big reds up to 47”.
Local angler Jack Chamblin and his son Rocky from Phoenix, Arizona have fished with Capt. Rocky before catching a number of huge reds so their most recent outing was about filling the ice chest with fat reds and trout for an upcoming trip to Grill’s Restaurant. Launching from Kennedy Point Park on a perfect morning, the crew headed to the east side of the Indian River to fish the recently rain-swollen shallows. The action was steady during the half day charter as the Chamblins boated a half dozen reds (25 to 27 inches) and a half dozen trout (also 25 to 27 inches). Great fishing in gorgeous weather and an over-flowing ice chest; it doesn’t get much better than this!
Mark DeLorenzo from Ovieda invited his tax accountant and his son from Lakeland, Joe and Benny Mirandi, for a day of fishing on the Indian River with Capt. Rocky. The weather forecast was sketchy with rain threatening in the morning and stiff east winds in the afternoon. Nevertheless the fearless crew headed for the shallow grass flats adjacent to NASA properties in search of redfish and trout. And their search was successful as the threesome combined for 13 reds and two monster gator trout on the day. Pictured below are Joe and Benny holding a redfish/trout double and Mark holding a 44 inch bull red which was landed after an epic battle. All in all it was an awesome day on the water.
The Rathbun boys are used to fishing in rough seas back home in Foxboro, Massachusetts so the hauling winds sweeping over the Indian River on Friday was only a minor inconvenience. They are also used to catching fish which was their major focus on the charter with Capt. Rocky. And catch fish they did as dad Jim and sons Nick and Joey, also known as ‘the pro’ enjoyed a furious two-hour bite by redfish and trout in advance of an approaching front. The twelve-plus reds ranged in size from 24 to 27 inches while most of the ten-plus trout measured north of 25 inches including several nearing 30 inches. Pictured below are three of the double hook-ups from the day (the multiple spot red being held by Nick had a total of 14).
Fishing in saltwater only hours after the passing of a major rain storm can be problematic due to the sudden drop in salinity. However, Jack and Shawn Chamblin were game for the challenge and, consequently, were greatly rewarded for their courage on their recent charter with Capt. Rocky. The deluge added six inches overnight to the shallows which allowed the reds and trout to invade previously unreachable grass flats. The Chamblin boys had a ball catching an estimated 12 reds, mostly upper slot, and 10 huge gator trout. Besides filling the ice chest, the highlight of the day had to be the size of the trout as several approached 30 inches in length.
Carl Scheuplein, 86 years young, and his buddy Phillip , both from Cocoa Beach had a fantastic day recently while fishing with both Capt. Peter and Capt. Rocky. Meeting the guides at Carl’s dock on Cocoa Beach, the long-time locals fished on a gorgeous sunny spring day with light east winds. The trip started with four large redfish in shallow sandbars and ended with catching large gator trout on the grass flats. Carl, who has fished the Thousand Islands area of the Banana River for over 50 years, caught his biggest red ever measuring 42 inches.
Dennis Lamb of Rockledge and his son Mica and son-in-law Warren from Washington State booked a day of fishing with Capt. Rocky in early April. A cold front had pushed through the area several days prior to their charter and the air and water temp were still chilly. However, a beautiful full sun day warmed everything nicely and as it did the fish returned to the flats to forage for food. And the Lambs were there to greet them. The Lambs had a grand time chasing and catching redfish and trout. For the official record, Dennis caught the biggest red.
